ABSTRACT
Efforts to conceptualize the noun “patriarchy” and the adjective “patriarchal,” long central to feminist theory, have often elicited mixed responses. This chapter summarizes an approach to intersectional political economy that the author develop more fully in her book, The Rise and Decline of Patriarchal Systems, describing distinct sets of institutions as structures of collective power that deliver exploitative advantages to some members of socially assigned groups based on factors such as gender, age, sexuality, race/ethnicity, citizenship, and class. Like Marilyn Power, it emphasizes the importance of work that takes place outside capitalist production and exchange; unlike her, the author draws parallels between forms of exploitation based on different dimensions of group membership. Increases in women’s participation in paid employment may not only increase family market income but also weaken the relative bargaining power of men in the family.
